DANVILLE — The state-champion Danville Elementary School Potato Devils recently returned home from Dallas after competing in the 16th annual VEX World Robotics Championship.
More than 30,000 students from across the world competed in the robotics competition, each wanting to be No. 1.
The Potato Devils placed 38th out of 76 teams in their division but took home a ton of experiences from their time across the country. Some teams participating weren’t based out of a school district, Potato Devil’s coach and gifted teacher Shelley Langdon said.
The team was extremely grateful to be able to go to Texas and tell the stories of what they learned along with being around people of different nationalities and cultures.
For many, it was their first time in Texas. They visited AT&T Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys.
The warm Texas weather was a stark contrast to Knox County, along with how busy Dallas was in terms of traffic and buildings covering the landscape.
At Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center, where the VEX World competition took place, each team had a booth with a variety of gifts for other teams, such as Danville Potato Devil stickers.
“The place was always thriving,” teammate Will Samples said. “There was never down time there.”
The Potato Devils went to several booths where they ate Chinese candy and Taiwan jellies.
They also used Google translate to communicate to a team from Hong Kong to ask if they had a table at their booth. Being in a new state with people speaking different languages was an exciting experience for the team, Samples said.
“I liked it a lot,” Samples added. “It was like a vacation.”
Samples was satisfied with the team’s placement and noted he was proud of the Potato Devils’ progress, especially coming from a small town.
Looking toward the future, the team is planning on staying together and encourage others interested in joining next school year. For example, the club had around 40 kids who wanted to join the team for the 2022-23 school year.
The Potato Devils have learned valuable lessons from their time in robotics, like using math and critical thinking skills to solve complex problems.
Either writing journal entries, measuring distances or communicating with other teammates to solve problems – they’re able to hone these skills via robotics and carry them toward the next school year.
